WINGED WARRIOR
Amazing story of heroic WW1 pigeon who delivered vital message despite being mortally wounded by by German snipers
New documents tell how brave carrier was hit by a bullet mid-flight. Yet he soldiered on for 21 hours to complete mission - then bled to death.

AMAZING details of how a First World War carrier pigeon delivered a vital message after being shot by German snipers have emerged - a century after the heroic bird died.

The winged warrior suffered serious wounds and a broken leg when the bullet ripped through its body mid-flight.

Yet incredibly, the plucky pigeon soldiered on for 21 hours to complete its nine-mile mission to Divisional Headquarters from the frontline at the Battle of Passchendale in October 1917.
The dishevelled creature stayed alive long enough to deliver the message before it bled to death.
Loftsmen of the Western Front were so proud of the bird - previously known as "Pigeon 2709" - that they had him stuffed.

After the war the dead bird was donated to the Royal Signals Museum in Blandford, Dorset, where he is now on show in a glass case.

Moments of the carrier's final flight - and how he earned his new name "The VC Pigeon" are revealed in previously unseen papers found in a house clearance.

The account, written by Captain James Lloyd, a propagandist for the Mi7b, reads: "This bird was hit by a bullet which broke one of its legs.In spite of wounds and being out in the wet all night the bird struggled home to its loft.

"When the man came to see what it had brought, they found the pigeon lying on the floor of the loft bleeding to death, with its legs shot away and the message holder embedded in its body.

"It died shortly afterwards.

"That bird's courage and devotion earned for it the name of the 'V.C Piegon'.

Adam Forty, of the Royal Signals Museum, said: "Almost 100 years later documents from the secretive propaganda branch of Mi7b came to light after being discovered in a Welsh attic by Jeremy Arter.

"We have been aware of the bravery of this pigeon for many years but have relied on anecdotal evidence.
"Now we have solid documental evidence.

"They also show the dead bird then became known as The VC Pigeon, in a nod to the Victoria Cross which is the highest award for valour."